Talk Straight

The people who I have trouble dealing with…are people who tend to not give full information. The purposefully leave out certain parts of the story — they distort the facts.

Shelley Lazarus, Chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather56

52 _{Covey, 261.} 53 _{Ibid., 272.} 54 _{Ibid., 126.}

55 _{Covey outlines thirteen behaviors that he feels are imperative for the trust necessary to} form collaborative relationships. I will discuss several of the behaviors that I believe are critical to the collaborative relationships with federal, state, and tribal governments in homeland security.

The federal government has a long history of failing to provide clear facts to the tribal governments concerning policy and programs. They have stated support for the Executive Order mandating a government-to-government relationship to the National Congress of American Indians while at the same time ignoring the required government-to-government relationship by defining tribal governments as local within The Homeland Security Act. This action has left the tribal governments out of the strategic planning for homeland security policy and programs, and denied the funding resources necessary to mitigate homeland security gaps on tribal lands. This behavior has led to the belief among many tribes that the federal government will not support the tribal government’s requirements for homeland security programs.

In his discussion of talking straight, Covey uses the example of the Hans Christian Anderson story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”57 _{The emperor and his}

attendants were told the clothes were made of magic cloth that could not be seen by stupid or unfit individuals. Rather than talk straight and say there is no cloth, the farce ran its course until someone pointed out the truth. The federal government has added the word tribal into many collaboration documents such that they read “state, local and tribal,” yet DHS works with state and local governments without extending the same level of coordination and assistance to tribal governments. Many tribes are pointing out the truth of this disparity, yet the federal government has not provided a mechanism for the tribal governments to accomplish the collaboration in these documents.

2. Demonstrate Respect

I try to treat people as human beings…If they know you care, it brings out the best in them.

Sir Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman, The Virgin Group58

57 _{Covey, 139.} 58 _{Covey, 146.}

The federal government has a long history of disrespect towards the culture and values of the tribal governments. When developing the border between Mexico and the United States after the War of 1812, the international line was drawn through the Tohono O’odham Nation — dividing the tribe and families. No one gave a thought to the indigenous people and the tribes whose land was now divided. With the increased focus of illegal immigration across the southern border, members of the Tohono O’odham tribe are often stopped, searched, and returned to Mexico. Eileen Luna-Firebaugh argues that “The tribal governments have attempted to resolve these issues through meetings and conciliations, which to date have not shown much success. The federal officials have not indicated full support of tribal sovereignty, particularly if it would require seriously addressing tribal concerns. Instead, federal officials have generally responded to the concerns as if they were being communicated by a local government, rather than by a sovereign nation.”59

The respect that the federal government owes to tribal governments is not rendered in many cases. Testimony makes it clear that tribal leaders are given the opportunity to make statements to Congress, and there is a great deal of testimony regarding homeland security issues. Yet no action is taken to address the issues they bring to Congress.

3. Create Transparency

Try to be transparent, clear, and truthful. Even when it is difficult, and above all when it is difficult.

Jean-Cypril Spinetta, Chairman and CEO, Air France60

There is currently no transparency between DHS and tribal governments related to homeland security policy, funding, and programs. There is no Office of

59 _{Eileen Luna-Firebaugh, “‘Att Hascu ‘Am O ‘I-oi? What Direction Should We Take?: The} Desert People’s Approach to the Militarization of the Border,” Washington University in St. Louis

Journal of Law & Policy 19:338.

Tribal Affairs to provide the transparency afforded tribes through other federal agencies. As previously outlined in Chapter I, states often do not invite tribes to participate in strategic planning sessions or grant proposal meetings. According to the National Native American Law Enforcement Association (NNALEA) 2002 Homeland Security Summit report, states were recently asked to address the inclusion of tribes in their planning for Emergency Operations Centers. Only fourteen of the thirty-five states with Indian reservations did so. Of these fourteen, only one was willing to provide funds to tribes for staffing improvements in Indian response capabilities.61 _{Transparency between DHS, states, and tribal}

governments would provide the mechanism necessary for tribes to fully understand and engage in homeland security programs and policies.

4. Right Wrongs

To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice. — Confucius62

Resolutions have been brought to the House and the Senate during the past three sessions of Congress to “acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the United States Government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States.” Yet the testimony offered during the hearings for the resolution shows that these are just words. The United States continues to ignore the tribal government’s rights to participate in federal decisions and policy making that affects tribal lands. It is an empty apology and, despite knowing the right thing to do, the federal government continues to take no action to do those right things. Hearings for S.578 have been held to correct the definition of tribal governments as local within The Homeland Security Act, and yet no action was taken to pass

61 _{NNALEA, 15.} 62 _{Covey, 158.}

that bill. It was dropped from the legers after the 109th Congress due to lack of action, and has not been raised again during the 110th Congress.

5. Get Better

You learn nothing from your successes except to think too much of yourself. It is from failure that all growth comes, provided you can recognize it, admit it, learn from it, rise [above] it, and then try again.

— Dee Hock, Founder and Former CEO, VISA International 63

DHS would be best advised to follow the lead of other federal agencies that have developed a government-to-government relationship with tribal governments. The EPA has established a strong working relationship with tribal governments since 1994. The NNALEA report states of the EPA, “EPA maintains a smooth working relationship with Indian nations and tribes on a government-to-government basis. It has many grants and agreements with tribes and provides training, technical expertise and other assistance, as requested. The EPA believes that joint training and joint operations are essential before disasters occur. Its training serves the dual purpose of detecting environment crimes as well as preparing first responders for terrorist attacks involving chemical, radiological and other environment contaminants.”64

6. Confront Reality

You must never confuse faith that your will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

— Admiral James Stockdale,65

63 _{Covey, 182.} 64 _{NNALEA, 13.} 65 _{Covey, 186.}

“Confront Reality is based on the principles of courage, responsibility, awareness, and respect.”66 _{The reality of Homeland Security as outlined in}

numerous congressional hearings and tribal association reports is that there are weaknesses in our homeland security plans by not including tribal governments in the process. It is important to secure our entire nation, not just pieces. Tribal governments are expected to meet the requirements for homeland security, yet they receive no funding from the federal government. Very often, the tribes are not provided the funding necessary for them to meet basic public safety requirements. According to the NNALEA Homeland Security Summit report,

Current funding for tribal law enforcement and first responders lags well behind that for non-tribal law enforcement and first responders. The result is that many Tribal law enforcement and first responder programs lack personnel, and the personnel they do have may need training, education, certification, experience, and sufficient technical assistance, while many experience burn-out resulting in low retention rates. Therefore, the cost will be higher to attain parity in law enforcement and first responder programs on Indian lands. According to Senator Campbell, “Indian tribal law enforcement officers are often the first and only responders to crimes committed against Indians and non-Indians on Indian lands.” In addition, Tribal lands have critical unmet needs for medical capacity, emergency response planning, and emergency service implementation.67

7. Clarify Expectations

Almost all conflict is a result of violated expectations.

— Blaine Lee, Author of The Power Principle68

When treaties were signed with tribal governments, there was an expectation that the words on paper would be honored. When E.O. 13175 was written, mandating all federal agencies work with tribal governments in a

66 _{Covey, 185.} 67 _{NNALEA, 8-9.} 68 _{Covey, 193.}

government-to-government relationship, there was an expectation that the order would be followed. In many cases, it was, and the EPA is a prime example. There is a respect between tribal governments and the EPA due the relationship created by the EPA as government-to-government with the tribes. When DHS was created, there was an expectation that tribal governments would be included in homeland security planning within a government-to-government relationship. Instead, they were defined as local governments, and that mistake has not yet been corrected, despite multiple hearings and testimony. There are often statements made by the uneducated in public and government service that the tribal governments should not be treated as “special.” Yet it has been through treaties and laws that the status of tribal sovereignty has prevailed. States respect each other’s sovereign status, and citizens are expected to follow the laws developed in each state, though they may differ from state to state. Homeland security leaders also respect the sovereignty of states and are accountable to the needs of the state governments as they relate to homeland security, sovereignty, and federalism. As such, the sovereignty of tribal governments should be provided the same respect and accountability of homeland security leadership.

8. Keep Commitments

Always deliver what you say you will. Never make a promise that you can’t follow through on. The way you really build trust, in a sense, is through crucibles. You have to show that you will do your part, even if it is difficult.

—Dennis Ross, Former U.S. Ambassador69

Executive Order 13175 states that the United States will interact with tribal governments in a government-to-government relationship. The Homeland Security Act ignores that order by defining tribal governments as local governments. The Homeland Security Act states that the mission of DHS is to

(A) prevent terrorist attacks within the United States; (B) reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism; (C) minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States; (D) carry out all functions of entities transferred to the Department, including acting as a focal point regarding natural and manmade crises and emergency planning.70

Tribal governments are unable to assist in meeting the goals of the Homeland Security Act based on their definition of local governments, since that definition denies them access to resources and funding that would enable them to participate in the mission.71 _{The federal government has acknowledged the}

mistake, has acknowledged multiple broken promises to the tribal governments, and yet still no action is taken to correct those deficiencies. The federal government’s responsibility is to address this issue, and work with tribal governments in a government-to-government relationship as promised through years of treaties, laws, and executive orders. Only then will tribes be able to fully participate in the homeland security mission and achieve the goals of security for their people and the United States.

9. Extend Trust

Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson72

In their paper, Kalt and Singer point out the benefits of tribal sovereignty and show how tribes move past dependency on federal funding and create their

70 _{6 USC 111, Sec. 101, The Homeland Security Act, 2002.}

71 _{Eileen Sullivan, “Tribes Say State Homeland Security Funds Are Not Trickling Down,”} (Congressional Quarterly Homeland Security, July 25, 2005),

http://www.ncai.org/ncai/resource/documents/governance/homeland_security-cq_2005-07-25.pdf, accessed September 12, 2007.

own economic success through self rule. Through extensive research with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, they extracted these examples of success:

Supported by every U.S. President since the 1960s and bolstered, for a time, by a combination of federal court rulings and congressional policies, tribal self-rule – sovereignty – has proven to be the only policy that has shown concrete success in breaking debilitating economic dependence on federal spending programs and replenishing the social and cultural fabric that can support vibrant and healthy communities and families. While gaming enterprises of tribes’ governments garner most of the attention, self-rule is creating more and more economic success stories in Indian Country – from the virtual elimination of tribal unemployment and the boom in non-Indian hirings in the factories and other operations of the Mississippi Choctaw, to the cutting of unemployment from 70% to 13% in six years via the non-gaming businesses of the Winnebago Tribe’s (Nebraska) Ho-Chunk Inc. Gaming success itself is spurring self-sufficiency, as tribes such as Oneida (New York) and Mille Lacs (Minnesota) take the step of eschewing federal funding. And the success of self-determination is not solely economic – as when Mississippi Choctaw plows the fruits of economic development into dramatic improvements in public safety and health care delivery, Mille Lacs is able to invest in award-winning efforts to replenish Native language use, and Jicarilla Apache (New Mexico) and White Mountain Apache (New Mexico) are able to take control of wildlife and forest management with professionalism and results perhaps unmatched by any government anywhere.73

There are those within the federal government that feel it is too complicated to provide tribal governments direct homeland security funding.74

Yet, even states are having a hard time meeting the funding mandates and required goals for grants they receive. In response, the federal government has provided guidance and assistance to the states. Tribal governments deserve this same level of respect and trust that they can use direct funding appropriately,

73 _{Katz and Singer. 1-2.} 74 _{Sullivan, 3.}

once a mechanism is in place within DHS to provide the funding as well as the guidance and assistance on programs.

B. SUMMARY

The security of the United States is weakened by the lack of collaboration between the federal government and tribal governments. Essential to collaborating successfully is to build a strong sense of social trust among the leaders and organizations. Each of the trust-building behaviors highlighted above offers an opportunity for homeland security leaders to change current practices to begin to foster that social trust. Currently, though, the lessons have not been learned.

The president has identified the need to build and support an effective homeland security leadership cadre across the federal agencies. The ability to work collaboratively with state, local and tribal partners, within the vast diversity of historical and legal guidelines, is a core leadership skill. Learning how to establish and sustain social trust where it has been missing is crucial to the success of a homeland security strategy.